Clockwork
by FallenLegend
Summary: Time is flowing, ever changing, but Time has no meaning in the afterlife. As the SSS graduates from life after death, he comes to hate the steady beating of the clock.


_Tick. Tock._

Kanade looked up from her painting. _It's almost time for graduation… _she thought. _I still have to finish the anthem too._ _Mapo Tofu, Mapo Tofu…_

She hummed happily to the rhythmic ticking of the clock. The graduation mural would be done soon.

_Tick. Tock._

Yuri paced around the headquarters. _What am I going to say? I need to be inspiring, as their leader! This is the last time I'm gonna see these guys, I have to be strong! I'm not gonna cry, not gonna cry, not gonna cry!_

Nervous, she paced around the interior of the room. Matching the clock, one footstep every second.

_Tick. Tock._

_I wonder how Yui's doing? That little devil had better be fine without me around, _Hinata was lying down in his dorm room. Without Ooyama, the small room seemed bleak and empty. _We'll be graduating from this life soon…_

_As we go on, we remember, all the times we- Dammit! I can't get that stupid song out of my head now!_

He rolled over and closed his eyes. The only sounds in the room the steady beating of the clock, and the rise and fall of his chest.

_Tick. Tock. _

_Otonashi-san! Thank you for the- No, that won't work. Otonashi-san, you were the best- No, that doesn't sound right either. What if I hug him? Wait, that'll only make him think I'm creepier._

Naoi slowly walked around the roof of the cafeteria building. Next to being beside Otonashi, it was where he felt happiest. All was quiet save for the rustling of leaves in the breeze.

The sun crawled across the sky in an agonizingly slow pace. It looked like high noon; graduation was at dusk.

Time should not exist in a world after death, and yet time still ticked away.

_Tick. Tock._

_An end sure comes quickly when it comes to happiness, doesn't it?_

Otonashi sat down on the hill overlooking the track, coffee in hand. The sun was setting, casting a brilliant orange glow on the river, reflecting the sun's light everywhere.

It was strange, even the NPCs seemed to have disappeared from the school. Even so, as the school bells chimed for club activities to end, he got up and slowly made his way to the auditorium.

_Time's up, _he thought.

_Tick. Tock._

Time passed painfully quickly as each said their goodbyes and faded away, until it was the two left.

He invited her to walk out, and she follows. He invites her to stay behind, but she cannot. She waited all of her life, in and out of the afterlife, to thank the one who saved her.

As she disappeared as well, the boy let out a heart-wrenching wail. No amount of screaming at the heavens could let him bring back the time he spent with her, time that had finally run out.

_Tick. Tock._

He lay in his bed, tears still flowing out of his red eyes. Had he gone out, he would have noticed NPCs materialising and going about daily business, like nothing happened.

Days passed, but time was something he did not pay attention to. The clock still ticked away, a feeble substitute for the heart she took from him.

_Tick. Tock._

He could hear it, even through the thunderous applause. The ticking of the clock, taunting him. It was like a phrase many used to scold children, repeated over and over again. _You should have used your time wisely._

Student council president. He continued the work she left behind, helping souls to leave before they could enjoy the time they spent. It was better when they did not regret leaving.

_Tick. Tock._

He sat by himself, alone in the student council clubroom.

_They say he's waiting for someone._

Waiting. That's all he did. Waiting for her, even though seeing her meant she had passed away.

Minutes, days and years passed. Time was immeasurable in this world, so the years meant nothing to him.

Each day, he thought: _I've been waiting so long. One more day doesn't make a difference._ Each day, his resolve slipped a bit more.

His sojourn in the room was broken each time a new person appeared. Each time, he hoped he would see her again.

The infernal clock still ticked away, taunting him with its steady beats.

* * *

**A/N:** Any feedback is **welcome!**

I wrote this when I was feeling a bit bored, so yeah, don't expect too much.

I purposefully made it shift from a character's thought to an omniscient observer's point of view,from using character names to He and She, and made it Otonashi-centric in the end because this fic is about the last minutes of the SSS and his staying behind.

The song Hinata is thinking about is Graduation by Vitamin C

The quote about ends coming to happiness from Otonashi are lyrics to the song Yellow, by Hatsune Miku (composed by kz from livetune)

Does this classify as romance?


End file.
